This week, 52 Lives would like to help Steffi, a 38 year old woman from Hartlepool in the UK.

Originally from Germany, Steffi is married to Steve, a former soldier. They have two teenage daughters and Steffi has been a full time carer for one of their daughter's who has additional needs.

Two years ago Steffi was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Soon after, they also discovered she had bowel cancer. She had intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and was relieved to be given the all clear. After everything that had happened, they decided to move to Germany last April to be closer to Steffi’s family. But Steve found it hard to find work there, and their girls were struggling to settle in, and so they decided to return to England in December with the little bit of money they had left.

Just a few weeks ago, on 2nd January, Steffi began to have bowel pains. Steve took her to A & E, and she was admitted for further investigations. Scans showed Steffi had cancer in her bowels and pelvis. Surgery isn’t possible, so Steffi’s only available option is chemotherapy every 3 weeks to slow the cancer’s process. The prognosis is 3-4 months without chemotherapy or possibly up to a year if she undergoes the treatment. The family is in complete turmoil. Steffi's family are still in Germany and Steve doesn’t have a close family network, so their friends are doing all they can to support them.

Their bills are on top of them, and Steffi can’t even afford to buy clothes – she has lost a lot of weight and is having to wear her daughter’s clothes.

With everything they are dealing with at the moment, we want to help reduce their financial worries, even if for just a short period of time. We would also like to help the family have a holiday together, and spend some quality, fun time together - something they can't afford to do without help.